Once a Jinchuuriki
by ThatSassMaster
Summary: "All those struggles and hardships were for nothing. I always knew being a jinchuuriki would suck; the second time just sucks a little less." ((Somewhat SI, Self-Insert))
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, I don't own Naruto. Not because I would come up with clever plots or anything. (hahahaha. No.) It's disappointing cause I would have made the Jinchuuriki a bigger thing!

For those of you who don't know, this is (pretty much) AU. We all know that the Jinchuuriki died...and, while they were eventually reincarnated...this is different. Basically, this is like a self-insert. Fū's just being inserted into herself.

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_"It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes."_

"**You'll never know how sorry I am that it came to this.**"

The sixteen-year-old said nothing, her half-opened eyes focusing on the cavern above her. Her fingers were curved around a knife she couldn't even lift. Her mouth was somewhat opened, letting our short, rasp breaths. Her top was stained a dark crimson. There was a gaping hole in her stomach, staining her clothes further and dripping onto the ground. Her entire body was wracked with injuries and burns, from the intensive chakra that burned her.

They were talking – the men that had defeated her. Some cocky silver haired _bastard_, and a man who was more hated than she was. Takigakure wasn't known for hating very many people. There was her and the people who came before her, and then there was _Kakuzu._

At first, she had complimented him on his style. It had always pleasantly amused her whenever those in Taki were greatly distressed. Of course, that amusement had ended the moment that they had told her what they had come for. She couldn't agree with them. He had been her only companion.

That was when their fight had begun. The silver haired one had been easy to defeat. With her companion's chakra constantly flowing through her, his little trick did little to deter her other than be a source of annoyance.

Kakuzu was the challenge. He was the one she couldn't kill. Not even when she gave into Nanabi and allowed him to take over that they could take the two. No matter how many times she stabbed either of them, they wouldn't die. Countless jutsus were used – by all three of them. Eventually, the silver haired one had introduced himself.

_Hidan_.

She's lost. They'd both lost and all she saw was darkness. When she had awoken, she had found herself in a cavern unable to move. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire. The two men were there, but so were other figures. There were 9 of them in all. All she could do was gaze at them in wonder, memorizing their very features before she closed her eyes.

"**You were the best jinchuuriki I've ever had.**"

'_You were the best friend I'd ever had._' She managed, gasping for breath that was harder for her to take in as moments passed her by.

"**Do you regret anything?**"

She thought back for a single moment, wondering what he could possibly mean by that. She had regretted a lot of things, knowing a loneliness very few others had ever felt. Still, all she had ever known was how to kill. How to survive. That had been the answer she had given once – ten years ago when the question had been posed to her by a different being.

"No. I don't regret anything." She said slowly, out loud. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. Her eyelids felt heavy. She felt a little useless, to be honest.

"**That's all I wanted to hear.**"

'_What...are...you...planning, Nanabi?_'

"**Chōmei.**" He said, his presence inside of her fading quickly. "**That is my name, Taki no Fū.**"

* * *

The next thing she knew, she was surrounded in darkness. She could not open her eyes. Could not stretch out her limbs without them hitting against something. Something was sticking out of her stomach, and she didn't know if it was a lung or a kidney. She wanted to believe that it was a kidney because she could live without one of those. Sure, she realize and understood that she could live without a lung if she had to.

But, she didn't want to. It was scarier to think that a lung was sticking out of her body than a kidney was.

Then, she was pain. It was the worst imaginable pain she would not have condemned to another person. She felt as if she were choking. As if she were being forced down a tube she knew was much too small for her to fit through. She tried to lash out. She tried to kick at something. But, her attempts failed her once she realized that she was falling backwards, everything attacking her. It was from one direction, too. She couldn't move. Her body was completely incapable of attacking that which was hurting her.

It was a feeling she had not had in a long time. It wasn't one that she had missed.

Suddenly, she was able to breathe. She cried out in relief that she was able to. She was so relieved that she paid little attention to the fact that her crying was so...childish. She could breathe. Everything had stopped hurting her. But, when she tried to open her eyes to realize and comprehend that which was going on around her, everything was blurry.

She wasn't in a field. She wasn't in a cave or some other sort of cavern, the kind of place she would expect for what would be her final day alive. She found herself crying. She couldn't stop crying. She had been scared, but she had been safe. She had been in a warm, safe place...and suddenly she wasn't. She couldn't decide if that was more frightening than not knowing where she was.

Instead, she found herself surrounded by cold air in arms that were much too big and cold. That, itself, was difficult to understand. The arms didn't feel like that of a mans, but she was too big for some woman to carry her. It made her feel...tiny and unable to do anything.

She wasn't entirely sure why, but, for some reason, she had figured that that would have been the most painful feeling in the world.

She didn't really remember when it was that her best friend had first been sealed inside of her. She had never asked him about it, and he had never decided that he had wanted to talk to her about it. They had come to a mutual understanding that, sometimes, things happened. Whatever it was, she had been grateful that he had been there for her.

Anyway, it took her a while to realize that she had been...reincarnated. She wasn't sure if that was the word one used for being born into the same body they had died in, but that was what she was going to think.

She also knew that, in a couple of hours, she would have killed her mother.

She was just a couple of hours old whenever Chōmei was first sealed in her. She knew she wasn't the only newborn at the time – in the Institution, other children had gotten their birthdays celebrated. She had just been the lowest ranking baby when it had happened. The Nanabi was sealed into her; his seal being inscribed into her upper-back. There was so much chakra. Almost too much. It hurt. Parts of her body felt as if they were burning.

She didn't cry that time. No, instead, she screamed.

There was very little she remembered about losing him. She couldn't recall what it felt like to have that chakra taken from her. But, she would now know what it felt like for it to have been shoved inside of her. Even more so than the fighting had left her throughout the years, this was the one that had caused her to hurt worse than anything she had ever done before. None of the cuts the scrolls gave her, nor the kunai to the stomach, or even a katana to the leg managed to compare to this pain.

"**Stop crying.**" He sneered, even though his voice was feint. "**You never used to cry this much.**"

_ '____It hurts. What do you expect?__' _She snapped, screaming at him._ '____I'm a child!__'_

But, she did stop crying. She was shocked, and he was going to explain to her what was happening. She didn't stop crying because it stopped hurting. She had stopped crying because she had been placed in a bed with someone. It was hard to see, but she could make out some features. What was easier to sense was her chakra. Fū didn't think she would ever forget this chakra.

It was her mother.

She tried not to be upset. She tried to force herself to be calm and not angry, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. She was more than mad. She was raging. This was the woman who had abandoned her. This was the woman who had agreed to letting them seal Chōmei inside of her – of making sure that she was alone and no one would ever love her. She may have lived with her tenant for a long time, but that didn't mean she had any control over him and his actions. Not then, either. Especially not then. All either of them really knew was that she was angry. Pissed. Livid.

"Fū." Her mother said, her hand clutching onto the smaller one with a harder grip. It hurt. "My little girl – you're a monstrosity."

She had to be strong. It hadn't ever been her intention to be weak. She had years of people trying to kill her, trying to beat her. She had years of them coming after her with weapons. None of those assassination attempts ever worked out in their favor, but it was an instinct to defend herself.

The fingers were odd. She couldn't quite see them, but she knew that they were there. She could feel them, and fell the chakra running through them naturally. The last time she had been there, she had killed her. Her mother had done something to make her mad, and it had angered her or upset her. Something that had allowed Chômei's chakra to kill her.

Something grabbed her, pulled her away and placed her in a small rocker. Some men came in and talked to her mother. She wasn't sure what they were saying. All she knew was that a man picked up the rocker and spoke to her mother again. The words were hard to make out, mostly because she couldn't focus on what they were saying.

The man took her away. She cried out, extending a hand out for her mother to take her back, but she didn't. That was the part that hurt. The last time she hadn't seen it. Hadn't seen her mother give her away. This time it was different. Her mother didn't want her. Neither her mother nor her father wanted her.

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AN: For the people who are rereading this, you'll notice that it's different. That it's no longer in first person. I have a reason for it. It made writing more...difficult. I have crazy mad respect for those of you who can write in first person...I'm not just one of them. I also changed some things. Personally, I like this one more than the other one.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, I don't own Naruto. Which...I think a lot of you should be glad about, haha.

**Appreciation for: **This is my first ever story. I wasn't expecting much - at least, not in the first month, haha. But, I'd like to thank my 1 reviewer and my 1 follower. There's a special piece in my heart for you guys. But, I can't forget about my **100 Views** and **94 Visitors!** If you review, I'll probably update faster. ;)

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"_I was born to be stubborn, to be a little bitchy, to push people, to push myself. I was taught never to take life for granted, to live a little, to love with everything I have, to never give up, to believe in myself, but, most of all, to fight for myself."_

Chōmei had gone to sleep, exhausted from having sent them into the past. She didn't understand why, but she didn't question it. Unless she was in a dire situation, he hardly ever made an effort to make her life better.

Fū learned everything on her own, always in the view of someone older than she was. Usually it was a shinobi.

She had always looked like a deranged toddler. She knew and realized that she looked like a malnourished and neglected child. It was because she was. She wanted to leave the village by the time she was four. She had spent her previous life working towards becoming a shinobi to impress the people she lived with – in a vain attempt to get them to love her. She knew better than to do that for them.

She was tired of being unloved. Of being mistreated. Of people trying to kill her. (They never succeeded, regardless of her being a child, because they were rarely shinobi and, if they were, they weren't very strong.) More than anything else, it was annoying.

Something knocked her down, grabbing her legs and dragging her down a dirt road. Her leg kicked out, kicking the person. She curled up in a ball, throwing her hands over her neck and tucking her head between her arms. It had become an accustomed habit of hers to defend herself. Unless she was close to near death, very few of the shinobi that were assigned to watching over her did anything.

"You're a monster." The man glared, kicking at her stomach.

They never hit her hard enough to break anything.

"You're – the – one – hitting a little – girl!" Fū managed to say, shaking.

She could see the bruises on her arms and dreaded getting new ones on her stomach. Her entire body was overshadowed by bruises. She felt a kick being directed towards her head. The only thing that was stopping it was her thin wrist that was in the way. There was a loud snap, but she didn't scream. The only sound they got out of her was a small intake of breath.

The men who were attacking her paused, waiting to see if the ninja were going to do anything. Once they realized that nothing was going to happen, they continued with all the fun they were having.

It was rare ninja actually got involved and stopped them from hurting her. There were two chūnin on duty. One was on the roof of a building two over from where she was, and the other was in the alley behind them. They cared very little for what was happening to her. As a jinchuuriki, they expected her to be able to defend herself.

She couldn't.

She couldn't because they fed her less nowadays than they had in her last life. Chōmei had been around last time, too. He had defended her against the majority of the attackers. She could defend herself just fine if there were only a few of them. There were just too many for her right now._ Eventually, someone coughed. _

The men put in a couple of extra kicks before leaving her alone. Fū kept herself curled up into a ball for a couple of seconds more. One time, she had pulled herself out of the ball they had put her through only to realize that they had just been waiting for her to uncurl herself. They beat the hell out of her until the chūnin had been forced to intercept.

Once she realized that they were gone, she unfolded herself. She sat up slowly and bit into her lip, sniffling. She was determined not to cry. Very slowly, she got to her feet. She took a step forward and wobbled. She was literally shaking. Fū let out a sigh, pulling her white shirt over her shoulder. She didn't realize that she had used the wrist that had gotten kicked.

She didn't start crying, but she did let out a small noise. She could feel the tears start to pick at the side of her eyes, but she refrained from crying. She refused to let the cry, even though they were threatening to rise up again. She spared glances in the direction where the two chūnin were, hands trembling angrily.

"**You're scrawny. Smaller than you were last time.**"

Fū stopped, blinking slowly with a confused look crossing over her face._ '____Chōmei?__'_

"**Who the hell else is inhabiting your mind?**' The beetle scoffed. '**Who hurt you?**'

The six year old scoffed, shaking her head and running her bruised fingers tentatively over her hand. ___'The better question is who hasn't hurt me?__'_

"**I'll kill them.**"

She smiled at his words, comforted that he wouldn't simply abandon her._ '____There's no point.__'_

"**When was the last time you had something to eat?**"

Fū flushed, closing her eyes and sucking in a breath. It had been approximately three days since she had last had something to eat. It was an apple and a piece of bread stolen from the bakery, but she couldn't resist herself. She was starving. That was part of the reason the men had beat her up this morning – because she had gotten something to eat.

Her head ducked down, staring blankly at the ground. It hadn't been her fault. She had been walking through the market place. After three days, the hunger she had seemed to go away. She was aware that she was hungry, but that was all that she could possibly be aware of. When she hung back in the alley, she couldn't help but awe over the food.

It was an apple, just a single apple. She may have been a ninja, but that didn't make any of this easier. Last time, she had been allowed his help constantly. She had killed her mother. As a result, she had had some people taking care of her. Now, they had taught her only until she could walk and run for herself. Then, they threw her out on the streets.

She frightened the orphanage workers.

It was an apple, just a single apple that she had stolen. She had waited until the vendor had been looking away before she walked up to the stall. Her body had been shaking the entire time. It circled around the apple and pulled it away from the group in time for the vendor to turn back around. Their eyes connected, and Fū ran for her life. She had just figured she had gotten away whenever those men knocked her down.

But, she had eaten that apple. She had gotten the food in her stomach and they hadn't made her thrown it back up.

"**That's what they've been doing to you?**" Chōmei sounded more than pissed. He sounded absolutely livid.

She shrugged her shoulder, absently making her way back to the slums of the village. She didn't live in any one apartment. There was a rundown building scheduled to be taken down. They just hadn't gotten around to doing it yet, so Fū had taken it upon herself to stay there. It was that or sleep outside where she was in danger of being beaten.

_ '____I'm fine. I'm not dead.__'_

"**This isn't what I intended for you.**"

A smile threatened to break out on her face. She only barely managed to restrain it. She couldn't let the thugs lining up the street, eyeing her, realized she was even remotely amused. If she did, they would take it upon themselves to show her the error of her ways. (Apparently, demons weren't allowed to be amused by anything.)

"Hey! Get back here!"

Her head snapped back, eyes narrowed. A group of men were rushing towards her. Inwardly, she groaned and took off running. Every time her foot slammed against the ground, she couldn't help but wince. She hadn't realized, because she had been walking so slowly, that the bottom of her feet were bruised from her earlier beating.

"Aww, where is the little demon going?" A woman sneered.

'_C-Chōmei. Help!_' She bit back a scream.

The majority of the group might have been civilians, but she wouldn't be surprised if some ninja managed to mix in with the group. There were weapons being thrown at her. She wasn't anywhere near used to dodging the kunai.

"**Don't go to that building. Get to the outskirts of the village. The civilians can't follow you there, and I can take care of everyone else.**"

She didn't say anything, but took down a different alley. The crowd had to split itself into a smaller one, but that didn't stop them from chasing her. By the time she had jumped out of the the lake, there were only three people following her. She crawled out and had just begun walking when one of the ninja tackled her.

It was a genin. The two of them rolled around until he was on top of her. Feeling confident, she struck back, throwing her foot up into his stomach. He grip on her weakened, allowing her to throw him off. She rolled over and got to her feet wobbling. Her eyes narrowed, sneering at them.

"Would you look at that, Kai?" The tallest one said, cracking his knuckles. "The little monster thinks she has a chance against us."

The one on his left – the one that had been holding her down – laughed, one arm over the spot where she had kicked him. "Let's show her just who's boss."

The third one disappeared from her sight. She could _hear_ him behind her. When Fū whirled around, the boy picked her up by her shirt. He leaned in close with a feral grin on his face. "We're tired of your kind polluting us. Suien should be pleased we're finally getting rid of you."

Fū shook her head frantically, coughing and trying kick at him. She had tried to scratch him with her nails, but had been unable to. "L-Leader-S-sama would n-neve-never all-allow it." She gasped, trying to breathe.

"Don't you speak of him." The first guy yelled angrily. He smacked at her with ninja wire.

Even though she tried to hold it in, she let out a screech. Her earlier beating had been enough to cause her pain. The ninja wire just cut into her skin. They threw her to the ground, laughing at the fact that they, mere genin, had managed to make the monster show emotion while getting beat. They continued to impound welts upon her small, bruised body until a spike of chakra flared.

"**How **_**dare**_** you touch **_**my**_** host.**" Chōmei sneered, speaking through Fū.

The red chakra boiled out of her skin, seeping out of the areas that had been cut faster than the parts that hadn't. It brought her to her feet. The chakra _burned_, but it was still better than anything else they had put her through. Once the red chakra covered her completely, she growled.

"T-Thinking you can scare us, demon? You don't have control." The one called 'Kai' laughed, pulling out some kunai and throwing it towards her.

The tail that had appeared behind her whipped them out of her way.

Fū could _feel_ herself becoming weaker.

"**You think that wise, petty fleshbag? I dare you to try it again.**" Her demon insisted, egging them on.

She felt herself be lifted up into the air as the tail that had thrown the kunai away shriveled up, bubbling in half to become two wings.

'_Chōmei?_' She questioned weakly. '_What's happening?_'

"**Go to sleep, Fū. When you wake up, you'll be in a better place and your tormentors dead.**"

* * *

The first thing her eyes focused on when they blinked open was the giant ocean in the distance. Even from where she was, she could tell how blue the ocean was. The waves moved and circled around until they became tidal pools the closer they got to the shore. The shore met the end of the tidal pools, but there was only so much sand keeping those pools away before a giant lake appeared. There was a small break in the sand that led the water from the lake to the ocean. The part of the sand that mixed the salt water with what appeared like fresh water looked frighteningly like a large crack.

She immediately proceeded to call it Oni's Froth.

Those three bodies of water seemed to all mix together within the Froth to create a giant fountain made up of, primarily, salt water. A smile broke out on her face as she immediately began to call it Nanabi's Well. Water poured out from the three sources into the well. Once it had filled to a decent amount, the water shot back upwards. It took a lot of time for it to fill out, but, when it did, it became a beautiful sight to behold. Fū knew, she knew, that the area was dangerous. It's very creation screamed for her to back away, but the sight was almost too magnificent for words. She had gotten to distracted by the sight that she almost missed the sight of the tree behind her.

It was a giant tree, much like the one in Takigakure. Except, it was much bigger than the one in the village could ever hope to be. It stood over everything else. If she had to guess, she would say that it stood at more than 56 meters tall. Chōmei must have slept on the highest branches because they seemed slightly bent from the weight of something. For a fraction of a second, the jinchuuriki wondered how it didn't break apart. But, when she got closer to it, she realized that the tree wasn't just tall. It was also wide. 12 meters around.

Chōmei had been the one to describe the tree for her, but it wasn't in this world, and she had never stood in the area that he had called his own. Apparently, somewhere out there, there was a tree just like the one he had commanded her to imagine for him all those years ago. He called it the Akuma no ki – the tree of demons.

Her goal had been to find it for him before she had been killed.

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AN: Like the first chapter, you'll notice that this one is shorter. Shorter and different. PERSONALLY, I like this one a lot more, too. lol. To anyone who can guess what I've based "Oni's Froth", "Nanabi's Well" and the "Akuma no ki" off of gets a special shout out in the next chapter. (: Also, what do you guys think is gonna happen?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Unfortunately, I don't own Naruto. Yet. -laughs evilly-

**Appreciation for: **I'm very self-conscious about my writing. It warms my heart when people compliment me. (It sounds petty, I know, but it's really nice!) I promised you guys a chapter yesterday, and I hope this meets your expectations! Guest-who-never-signs-in-but-is-very-much-loved, I actually know of some pretty spectacular first person stories, actually. I'll try to go and add them on my favorite story list as opposed to just knowing their titles so others can see them! Anyway. Sorry for the slight rant. I'd like to thank you all for my **362 Views **and** 243 Visitors! **Let's keep in mind, lovelies, if you review, I'll update faster!

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_"Because, sometimes you have to see yourself the way you could be – the way you might be if things were different."_

She felt like she had been there for only a couple of minutes whenever she could sense Chōmei's presence again. When she glanced upward – because Fū had decided that she wanted a better view of everything. She had climbed up the tree in order to do so – he was resting on one of the higher branches, lazily.

"Hi, Chōmei." She greeted with an easy grin, waving easily at the demon. In the confinement of her own mind, her body was broken down. It wasn't aching. It wasn't starved. She felt like a healthy six year old.

"**Fū.**" He nodded his head once. "**You're going back. Don't be alarmed. Don't scream. Keep your strength. You're going to need it.**"

That put a frown on her face. She tilted her head at an angle, eyebrows furrowing. "Why?"

He scoffed and took flight, leaving the tree. "**Don't question me. Just go.**"

She opened her mouth to say something else, to argue with what he had told her. But, when she opened them, she found herself shocked. She sat up slowly, wincing once she did so. Yes, it was true that the Nanabi had saved her from being killed. The tree genin were probably dead if she took into account just how stained her clothing was. But, that wasn't what had drawn her attention. That wasn't what had her wincing.

Yes, he had saved her, but it wasn't as if he hadn't left his mark. Her body, which hadn't recovered from the bruises but was healed of the welts, was sprouting many burns all over the place. Laying in the scorching desert wasn't making her feel better, either.

Slowly, the six year old got to her feet and glanced around. When she turned her body completely, she saw what Chōmei had wanted her to see in the difference. It was a cliff of rocks, but she understood what was behind it. She had only been to Suna once, but that once had been enough for her to recall the buildings made of clay and the people clad in beige.

"**I could have gotten you closer, but they would have attempted to attack.**"

She wanted to ask how he had gotten that close to begin with, but she knew better than to question the demon about it. If he wanted her to know, he would have told her.

* * *

As she walked towards the cliff of rocks, she felt herself becoming hotter. Contrary to first glance, Chōmei had landed further away than she had realized. Sweat stuck her hair to her scalp. It made her already crispy clothes stick to her skin. It made her itchy, particularly where the clothes clung onto her uncomfortably. Instead of cooling her down, the gusts of air were scorching and only served to throw sand in her face. All in all, the air did little to help her and, instead, fanned her shirt with a large variety of dirt.

Still, Fū kept walking. She was determined not to stop. If she did stop, there was a high possibility that she would never get back up again. It was too easy to die of dehydration of overexposure to the sun.

It wasn't until later that she realized just how far away she was from the actual sands. Sure, she had found a nice little cave to crawl into. That was where she had spent the night, sleeping with Chōmei inwardly complaining about her body would slow her down and, if it came down to it, kill her. Still, the young girl had opted to sleep.

By the time morning reached round, she had gotten up with the startling realization that she had not had anything to eat yesterday except an apple, and she hadn't had anything to eat before that. She wasn't sure that she had even had anything to drink. A small growing sense of panic settled in her stomach as she ran out of the cave, eyes focused on the pile of rocks in the distance.

It wasn't until the middle of the morning that she could finally stop. She felt so weak that she could collapse any minute. Chōmei had gone silent in her head, and every muscle in her body was aching. She was too young to have been exposed to the sheer amount of chakra that he had had in him. She didn't get to stop at any one particular, spectacular place. The dried, dead tree was only big enough to throw a shadow over her. It was nothing like the Akuma no ki.

Her body gave out, crashing against the rough sand. The dust was but mere centimeters away from her nose, inhaling it with her gasps of air. A small smile danced across her lips as she closed her eyes, hands curling.

* * *

It was water that had broken her up. Not Oni's Froth nor Nanabi's well, but water that dripped onto her face. Dribbled onto her eyes and allowed her to, hestitantly, blink her eyes open.

She faced a masked man in front of her.

He held his hand out to her, and she took it. Slowly, he pulled her into a sitting position. To be honest, she had forgotten what human contact, one that wouldn't try to kill or rape her, felt like. She was surprised that she didn't fall apart as soon as he had done so. Her limbs were stiff, clumsy, and wobbly as the masked man – ANBU, she had to keep reminding herself – pulled her to her feet and handed her a canteen.

She drank it, not at all surprised to perturbed at the ANBU for staring at her. When she finished, she let the canteen fall to the ground and stared at the shinobi in front of her with an expectant look. He lifted her to his arms and started running immediately towards the inside of the city. Her small hands wound themselves into his beige uniform, marveling at the fact that someone was touching her.

Touching her without evil intention.

Her eyes peered in all directions once they passed the gate. They observed the center of the village with marvel – even being judged as poorly, Suna was still more...put together than Taki had been. She giggled childishly – childishly! Fū had never gotten the _chance_ to act like a child would – and waved at the guards as they rushed into a building and up the stairs. They placed her to her feet softly in front of a large meeting room, the ANBU entering before she did.

"I have done as you have asked, Lord Kazakage. The child is with me."

"**If you have to, brag.**"

'_About what? You? Why would I do that? They would just treat me awfully._'

"**You can't like to a Kage, Fū. It would be the stupidest thing you could do. Telling him of me guarantees you a power – you are something that they covet. A rogue jinchuuriki willing to leave their village in search for another one.**"

"I asked what happened." The Kazekage demanded.

Fū winced and took a step back, not even realizing that she had been placed in front of the intimidating man. Her fingers pulled at her shirt, just now realizing how dirty and pathetic she really looked. The Kazekage, to her six year old mind, looked _scary_. His hair was auburn, and his eyes burned into him. He stood besides what must have been his desk, a loose fitting blue kimono with a white jacket. His hat, with the word wind inscribed in it, was resting on the hat.

She sucked in a slight breath and nodded her head. "My name is Taki no Fū, daughter of Taki no Kishiko and Taki no Kaito. I am six years old and am seeking asylum from Takigakure." Her words were firm.

It hadn't taken much for her to find out the names of her parents. She had watched them often when she had first been left on her own. They were happy enough without her. They had even had another child – a boy who resembled her very little, if at all. She had never been allowed to meet her brother face to face, nor had she ever had the opportunity to know his name or anything about him. If she had to say, he would have been about two years old.

The Kazekage gave her a look, clearly doubtful of her story already. "What could you, a mere six year old, have done to seek asylum in a country far from Takigakure?"

She bowed once out of a sign of respect. Once she stood, there was a smile on her face. It wasn't one of hope, wasn't one that normally belonged on a face so young, but it was one that the jinchuuriki was all too familiar with. Carefully, and ignoring the raised eyebrow the Kazekage was giving her, she pulled down the sleeve of her shirt to expose her shoulder.

'_You want me to brag, Chōmei? I'm running out of chakra. Channel yours into the seal._'

The look of shock that had come onto the Kazekage's face had almost been worth it. If not that, then the small intake of air from the ANBU who had moved behind him. She almost laughed, if only because it was so satisfying toknow that she had gotten a that sort of look after a Kage. If they ever got on friendly terms, and she sincerely doubted that they would, she would have to bring it up with him on many occasions. Then again, she had come here because she hadn't liked the option of dying.

She sucked in another breath before continuing. "I'm not going to go into details cause I don't know them all. All I know is that, somehow, Takigakure came to have possession of my parasite. To my knowledge, it is the only village outside of the great five villages to hold a tailed beast." She stuck up her left palm, extending all five fingers out. Her right hand formed a peace sign, which she held in the middle of her left palm. In total, she had seven fingers up and a deadpan expression on her face. "I hold the Nanabi – the Sora no Nanabi."

She felt confidence swell up in her the more she spoke. "I have partial control over him, too. I have no doubt in my mind that I could control him with some more practice." That was the good part, even if it was sugarcoated. She couldn't control Chōmei. One did not simply control a tailed beast. She had just...befriended him. She had had, technically, 22 years with him. Sure, he had hated her for a long time, but that was before she had gained his trust six years ago. The young girl bit onto her lip, yanking her sleeve back up.

The Kazekage nodded and turned his back away from her. It made a tension that had been there rise up, until he had looked out the window. "We have our own jinchuuriki. Why would we need another?"

"Power." Left her mouth before she even knew what she was saying. A dry feeling came up in her throat as she focused her eyes on the men in front of her. "I can offer you power. There are only two jinchuuriki who could best me – two bijū in the world who could beat mine. Whoever your jinchuuriki is, he isn't one of those two."

He nodded his head again, giving her a dark look. She could feel herself shaking, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was hungry or because she was nervous. She wanted this to work. She would rather stay in Suna than in Taki. At least, she wouldn't know the people in Suna. There would be no bonds here. And, they weren't Konoha. They wouldn't turn her over to Taki.

"I'm not asking for much." She said finally, ducking her head and trying not to make too big of a fool of herself. "I want to be a shinobi, as is required of me. All I ask is not to be beaten and starved. I ask for basic human necessities."

Finally, the Kazekage turned back towards her, his eyes piercing her own. "The trip has been difficult?"

"Yes, Lord Kazekage." Fū answered immediately. "But the trip was well worth if, if you allow me to stay here."

"My guards will show you to our medical facilities. Get your wounds checked and stay there for the night. Tomorrow, someone will be there to show you around. Taki no Fū, welcome to Sunakagure."

* * *

AN: YAY. Slowly but surely building up length. No one has guessed what "Oni's Froth", "Nanabi's Well" and the "Akuma no ki" are based off of, which slightly upsets me until I realize that maybe you have and just haven't reviewed. (:


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto. Don't even, technically, own Fū. -sobs-

**Appreciation for: **YUS. The amount of reviews now passes the amount of chapters I have. Dunno why, but that made me really happy. Any review makes me happy, even if all it says is 'hi'. (read; even though it makes me happy, please don't just write 'hi'.) I'd like to say a big _**THANK**** YOU**_ to all of those who have read this story. We now have **616 Views**, **335 Visitors, 7 Followers, 5 Reviews, and 3 Favorites.** Keep in mind, lovelies, if you review, I'll update faster.

* * *

"_I say what I want to say and do what I want to do. There's no in-between. People either love you for it, or hate you for it."_

She hummed – dared she think it? - happily, kicking her legs back and forth to propel her through the air. She hadn't known such pleasures when she had lived in Taki. The air brushed through her minty hair – her _clean_ minty hair. The air wasn't cold, it wasn't unwelcoming. It simply...was. It felt nice. It hadn't taken Fū long to figure out just what had given Wind Country it's name.

Her hair was almost long enough to tie back in a ponytail. Back in Takigakure, she would have never considered leaving it this long. It would have given her attackers the leverage to be able to pull on her hair. Here, people left her alone. They didn't hate her – their eyes weren't malicious. To them, she was just a little girl that had just appeared one day without warning. No longer was she starved, although she still didn't have nearly as much food as a seven year old should have had.

But, it had been a good month in Taki. She hadn't befriended anyone. The few times she was invited to play with the other kids, she declined more often then she complied. She understood that there was no malicious in their eyes when they looked at her, but she knew. She knew that the minute they figured out who she was, they would strike her. They would hate her just as surely as the children and adults did in Takigakure.

She knew because she had seen the way that they treated the red head boy. He was just a little younger than she was. The first time she had seen him, she thought that he looked odd. Practically like her opposite. Fū had almost gone forward and introduced herself to him until she had seen the way the kids had reacted to them. As if he were the scum of the earth...the part that frightened them. He had been on the swings that time, and he had sat at the swings for half an hour while the rest of the park cleared out.

Fū regretted not marching towards him and immediately introducing herself. There was someone who knew what it felt like to be hated, or so she had thought. He was fed. Maybe not loved, but he had been given the bare necessities, including a caretaker who loved him. She had been furious, jealous, any nasty feeling that particularly came to her mind. Why had she never gotten that? Was it because she had been stronger?

"**He's there.**"

But, she didn't need to hear what Chōmei had been saying to know that he was there. She had heard the kids screaming and running away from him. She didn't pay attention to them as some of them passed, telling her to run away from the monster. She didn't listen. She saw no reason to. The redhead was no threat to her, and she was having too much fun swinging back and forth. It wasn't until he made his way towards her that she slammed her feet into the ground, stopping herself.

Orange-red eyes met green, both hungry to find a friend.

Slowly, she stood up. Her hand extended outwards only a little. It was hesitant at first, wondering if it was okay for her to do so. Her top teeth chewed on her lip.

Her arms were starting to fill out. She didn't merely look like skin barely scraped on bone anymore. She actually seemed as if had eaten, and she had. It was true that the Kazekage had given her an apartment to stay in. It was small, and the landlord always stopped by at the end of every week to make sure that she was still alive. Her new, added weight meant that she also had to get new clothes, courtesy of the allowance the Kazekage had allowed her every week. She wore a blank, black T-shirt with a white hood that connected to it. The hood had a zipper going down the front, which she always had zipped halfway upwards. With them, she wore white shorts that ended downward at her knees.

She didn't say anything, although she wanted to. Fū had lived for a long time, but she didn't remember ever seeing anyone with the same eyes that she had. Albeit, his were still hopeful, but they were jaded and guarded. The eyes of a child who knew there was no one around them. Her lips pressed together, but, finally, she sucked in a tiny breath.

There was no use of both of them standing there staring at one another.

Finally, she held her arm out firmly. A small tendril of sand darted upwards quickly. The moment that it did, he stumbled back away from her. It didn't stop the barrage of lightning from trying to attack her. When it eventually wrapped itself around her arm, she felt a pinch of pain.

"It's not going to hurt me." Fū smiled, amused too much for the frightened look that was on his face. "You have one too, don't you? A bijū."

The redheaded boy looked too afraid to answer. The sand had still not left her arm, and it continued to try to press down against her arm. The tightening had only continued, even though she continued to ignore it. She only pushed more of Chōmei's chakra into her arm to stop the sand from cutting into her.

"I have a monster, too." She gestured towards her arm with her head. "It's because of him that your sand hasn't cut through my arm yet. He covers my skin with a layer of chakra that protects me from most weapons and hand-to-hand combat." Of course, she didn't admit that it made her life all the more difficult.

"Why don't they hate you?" He asked quietly, taking some steps towards her again.

"Because they don't know." She answered flatly, smiling before turning around and climbing right back onto the swing. "If they did, I think they'd treat me worse than you."

He didn't say anything at first, choosing instead to focus his attention on his feet and the sand below him.

"Don't feel bad." Fū said, kicking her legs back and forth in an attempt to get her swing started again. "People are dumb. They seal the bijū inside of us to make us powerful enough to defend them, yet they're afraid of us. They think they can control our bodies." She scoffed, although she had to admit that their fears weren't entirely unfounded.

"It's not fair." The boy frowned, the beginnings of tears beginning to leak out of the corners of his eyes.

"No, it's not." She agreed, gesturing towards the swing next to her with her head. "Why don't you climb on? I'll tell you a story that'll make you feel better."

* * *

She didn't talk to Gaara after that. It always seemed as if someone was trying to keep the two of them apart, but she was comforted in the fact that she had made a friend. Even if they weren't allowed to see each other, Fū knew. She knew that, somewhere in this very village, there was someone who understood loneliness like she had. She had seen him walking hand in hand with his caretaker as she hid behind merchant stands. Whenever she would try to approach, they would disappear.

She always tried not to be offended by the fact that he had someone who cared about him as much as his uncle apparently did. She knew that she had Chōmei to look after her, so she was thankful for that.

"**You have a bad habit of walking outside at night.**" Chōmei grumbled, upset that she was out and walking instead of sleeping.

'_It's a habit leftover from Takigakure. Some nights I can't sleep. So sue me._' She shrugged her shoulder absently, shifting her stuff in her arms.

There was only one stand that stayed open throughout the night, tending to those who came in at night. She hadn't gotten much – no matter how long she was here for, she _still_ hadn't gotten used to eating as much as she had been. She made herself sick, which annoyed Chōmei to no end, but she couldn't help herself. After years of barely being fed, being able to eat whatever she wanted was a freedom she didn't see herself giving up easily.

There was a rumble that send her flying forward, bags flying out of her arms. Sand whipped upwards, scratching her arms and flaring in a direction she couldn't quite see. There were screams, too. They were orders, that much she could hear.

"**Seems like little brother is throwing a tantrum.**"

Her eyes widened as she frantically got her feet and ran in the direction that the sand was heading towards. '_You idiot! Why didn't you tell me he was unstable? I could have done something – I could have helped._'

"**How would you have helped?**" He snorted with glee. "**If I wanted to, I could take control of your body right now.**"

She gulped but didn't stop running, pumping all the chakra that she could into her legs. '_But, you won't._'

"**Only because playing with you mortals is no fun. Oh, hey. Look. Shukaku.**"

She felt her heart drop in the pit of her stomach, hands shaking as she quit running. She winced as someone jumped up to punch him, only to having the giant monster's hand smack him down. The man fell harshly towards the ground, landing with a heavy crack that sent shudders down her back. On the grounds, figures were running desperate to get away from the monster.

Many weren't fast enough to succeed.

"**Mind if I speak to my brother?**" Chōmei asked pleasantly, knowing full well Fū wouldn't raise a finger to argue.

She merely nodded her head once before she was on her knees, chakra pumping through her painfully. Red chakra bubbled out of her pores like they had before. A part of her wondered why no one noticed a small girl being consumed by demonic chakra. She felt herself being lifted up. Her knees and hands left the sand.

'_What's...happening?_' She felt herself becoming weaker, sleepier as the her body transformed. She could see wisps of chakra leaving her abdomen.

"**You are seeing me in my form. I could render you unconscious, like I did the last time, but I want you to see this.**"

Fū nodded her head absently, slipping down and sitting slowly on one of the branches of the Akuma no ki. Her legs swung back and forth.

'_Letting you control me is weird. I look weird._' Her eyes blinked, unable to grasp that she was looking at herself.

Her body had shifted. Chōmei's presence was minimal, but it was still there. His 'legs' had wrapped themselves around the claws of his younger brother. She thought it was very weird to see herself a giant blue beetle with six orange wings and a giant green tail growing out of her abdomen. Her entire body was covered by blue armor.

Her opponent meanwhile, was sandy-brown in colored. He had black markings all over his face, as opposed to hers which was a helmet-like skull. He also had them covering his body and his tail. He had a jagged, concave mouth. The only thing they had in common were their black eyes, but then there were the remote differences. While Chōmei and her own eyes were completely black, Gaara and Shukaku's had yellow irises with pupils that took on the shape of black four-pointed stars.

Chōmei's wings fluttered wildly, throwing the sand Shukaku through right back at them. The tanuki demon, meanwhile, cackled as he whipped around. His eyes were crazy, frightening her. Her grip tightened on the tree.

Chōmei lunged forward, picking Shukaku up and flying upwards. She felt her stomach drop down as she groaned, clutching onto the tree with dear life as everything moved around. Wind plastered her to the bark. As soon as they were in the sky, Chōmei flipped over and span towards the ground. Her mouth opened with silent screams as her hands leg go of the tree. She found herself falling towards what would have been the top of the tree.

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open weakly as she forced herself to sit up. Sand was falling at an incredible amount around her, and ever single part of her body protested as she tried to force herself to sit up. When it didn't work, she let out a hiss of frustration.

'_Chōmei?_' She tried, wondering if the demon would talk to her.

It didn't. Instead, she heard a whimper that immediately caused her head to turn around in the direction that she heard it coming from. Not for the first time, orange eyes met green. Gaara's face seemed more worn out than hers felt; his body was shaking. His clothes were torn up, and he had red splotches that could only be burns covering different parts of his bodies. Fū figured she must have looked somewhat like he did because she could feel the heat radiating off of her own burns.

"Why...why did you do that?" He asked, his eyes locked on her own.

She shrugged her shoulder, sucking in a deep breath when she did so. The sand they were laying on did nothing to ease the pain she was feeling. "You're like me. A person who knows what I have felt." She smiled, blinking. "Couldn't let you go on a rampage."

He moved, turning his head to look up at the sky above. There were shinobi moving around them now, all of them wary to approach the two jinchuuriki. She didn't move – didn't even make a notion that she was still alive other than whimpering whenever they picked her up and when they aggravated her wounds. Whenever she did, a short spout of sand would shoot upwards as if to protect her. She didn't know who was carrying her, but she knew Gaara was in the hands of his father.

_ Beside her._

* * *

AN: Huzzah. It's a longer chapter! Tell me what you think cause I was kinda iffy on this chapter. Also, for those of you still trying to guess, you could say those three locations are on the West Coast of North America. That's all the hint you're getting for this chapter. _Auf Wiedersehen._


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto. -sobs hysterically-

**Appreciation for: **ALL OF YOU GUYS! There are so many views! It's kind of unbelievable, haha. I'd like to say a big _**THANK**** YOU**_ to all of those who have read this story. We now have **822 Views**, **407 Visitors, 11 Followers, 9 Reviews, and 7 Favorites.** Keep in mind, lovelies, if you review, I'll update faster. (-hint!hint!-)

* * *

_"Fear is stupid. So are regrets."_

Sunagakure was a different place than Takigakure had been. With the exception of her presence, the villagers all liked each other. They spoke to each other's neighbors, they mourned as a whole for the loss of one, and they were united. Suna was very much the opposite. Sure, they mourned, but the majority of them tended to stay to themselves. They didn't talk to one another as freely as those in Taki did, and, for some reason, Fū found this to be much more of a comfort than a burden. It didn't stop the rumors from spreading about her, but she found herself caring less and less over the years.

After all, for once, she had a friend to reply on.

If there was one thing she had learned about Gaara, it was that he, specifically, didn't like to mourn. He hated to wait around after a kill. It was what made him a good assassin. And, while there were more things that she had learned, it was that lesson that she learned mission after mission. She was different. Having known what it was like to have people constantly hating you and planning your death, each life that she took left a mark on her.

In her mindscape, the beach near Oni's Froth and Nanabi's Well was joined by several gravestones.

The man's jaw was completely unhinged. It was in his throat – the throat that had been slit by her kunai. His teeth were gone. The skin that had been uncovered was gone. One of his eyes was rolled backwards, and the other was hanging down the side of his face. His nose was half burned off. His hair, which had been a marvelous charcoal color, _was_ now charcoal. She could see his ribs. She could see where several of them had been broken. Some of them were still hanging on, most of it was in his lungs, his stomach, what would have been his kidneys; what would have been if she hadn't managed to yank them out.

His legs were shattered and bent in directions they shouldn't have been. His arms were gone. They had been buried under the sand and would, realistically, never be found. He had been poorly muscled and not much of a fighter. It was probably what had allowed him to live so long as a traitor. Inwardly, Fū imagined what his life would have been like. She saw him as someone with a boring job – always collecting scrolls and destroying them. He must have liked books – must have dreamed about one day becoming a jounin. That's what she imagined.

"**Quit doing that to yourself, Fū.**" Chōmei commanded, and she ignored him.

She imagined he had one day dreamed of the day where he would stop spying. He didn't like it much, she decided. At night, when he laid his head down on the pillow, she knew that he regretted the lives he had affected. The people who had been killed; the children who starved – he hoped he would one day be able to put his guilt to an end.

"**You killed him. That's that. Feel no regret.**" Chōmei hissed, angrily. He hadn't been happy with the new changes of her mind.

Somewhere behind her, Gaara made an impatient noise. Kankuro must have thrown up again.

The fourteen year old rarely ever joined them on the assassination missions. Even though he had graduated two years ago from the Academy, and she and Gaara were fresh out, the Kazekage rarely saw fit to endanger the lives of the children he loved. That, and Gaara didn't have the patience for dealing with his dearly beloved brother.

It wasn't as if he had gone completely off the deep end. Yes, it was true that her friend – her only friend. Her transformation that night years ago had all but assured her of it – enjoyed killing. He found pleasure in the annihilation of those who got in his way. Chōmei liked to claim that his brother was half to blame, and Gaara's insomnia made up for the rest of it. Still, the redhead wasn't the psychotic murderer the rumors made him out to be. His hatred may have far surpassed her own, but he wasn't outright cruel.

To those few who had managed to maintain a spot on his good side. Unfortunately for many, that list had been shortened to two names; Mizuppoi suna no Fū and Sandiuinzu Temari.

Aside from the two of them, he valued himself more than he did anyone else. If given the opportunity, the minty haired genin was sure he would murder his father and his brother. She was sure things would have been different if it weren't for the fact that she was also deeply prejudice against the villagers. Yes, she had occasionally saved their lives, but that was more to avoid being reprimanded by the Kazekage than wishing them well.

Gaara loved himself. It was a narcissistic trait the two jinchuuriki shared, but he liked her. (With a healthy dose of fear from knowing that, despite what he had sealed in him, what she had in her would definitely win in any fight between the two of them.) He was blunt and never stopped to think about how his words would come across. Not only that, but he was ruthless. His targets rarely ever had a chance to try to plead for their lives, whereas her own had minutes before she got bored. He was protective.

"Aren't you done?" Gaara asked, making his way towards her and away from her brother.

Fū shrugged absently, taking note of the blood that was on her hands. The blood of the traitor, Tabito Asahara.

It wasn't until they were walking back that she took note of the brunette in front of her. Gaara was walking ahead of them, scouting out for any threats. (Really, she liked to think that he had gotten excited at the sight of her drenches in blood and had wanted to kill someone himself.) Kankuro was pale faced and more resigned. He hadn't spoken, and had only barely managed to stop from throwing up anymore.

It was pathetic.

It made him human.

"Do you like your life?" She asked him frankly. He started and gave her a look. When he didn't respond, she continued. "Would you have liked to trade your life for his? Tabito Asahara was a traitor and had to be stopped. Think it over."

The older boy said nothing and turned away. Next to them, their sensei finally appeared. He was always left with the charge of disposing the body before anyone found it. Baki was tall, about 6'2. He never spoke about the two red markings on the right side of his face, and they had never asked him about it. Aside from that, the rest of his face was covered by headgear and by a sheet that covered the left side of his face. He wore the standard attire, and she had never seen him out of it.

"What makes you say that, Fū?" He asked her lightly, but she didn't miss the tone in his voice.

She couldn't help but smile at his question, even if it was vindictively. She shrugged her shoulders, "He could have waged a war. He wasn't defenseless. He was a ninja – a weapon to be used by his Kage. He went around that, and he had to be taken care of. He was dead the moment the thought crossed his mind to betray his betters."

Baki nodded his head in approval, and she moved forward.

"**Do you really believe that?**" Chōmei asked her in that offhanded tone that let her know she had said something that displeased him. Not for the first time, she wondered if he regretted his decision in helping her escape.

She fell into step beside Gaara and tilted her head at an angle that let him know she was there, but she was gone. '_I believe he had to die._'

"**I never thought that you would be someone who was loyal to their Kage. Even after what he did to your precious friend?**" A ghost of a real smile flashed over her face. She always wondered what her freeloader thought of her friendship.

'_I don't respect him. If he were to die, I would not mourn his loss. I am grateful for escaping Takigakure._'

"**Do you regret it? Taking his life.**" Chōmei clarified.

It was hard for her to answer. She knew, in what was a different time, she probably would have said yes without hesitating. Not because she liked humanity, because she hadn't, but because she had come to learn that life was precious.

'_Gaara needs me. I need him. We are very much so dependent on one another._' She settled on finally, knowing full well that her parasite wouldn't be pleased with her answer. '_If I had allowed this man to live, I would have forsaken my right to be with my friend._

'_No. I don't regret it._'

* * *

She flipped over the shuriken being thrown her way with barely a centimeter between them and the exposed skin on her back. Once her feet landed onto the hard ground, she threw a couple of her own kunai to match the shuriken and throw them off of her. Admittedly, this wasn't what she had been expecting when she had been sent on a courier mission, but what she could she do?

The Kazekage always made sure to hide her – to send her away if there was even a remote chance of ninjas from Taki coming anywhere near her. Neither of them doubted for a second that they would, more than likely, be assassination ninja there under false pretense to eliminate one of their rogues. She wondered if that placed her on the same level as the missing-nin Kakuzu.

Somehow in the process of being distracted, she had failed to see how one of her attackers had gotten close to her. They aimed a roundhouse kick at her head. Having little choice to dodge, her hands moved through the seals she had been trained. She started with ram and ended with snake, eyes immediately moving towards one of the enemies who had stayed behind. In a puff of smoke, they switched places. It didn't take Fū long to take advantage of the confusion she had caused and grab a hold of the older Iwagakure kunoichi who stayed beside her.

She sent a hard, strong punch towards her stomach. When the kunoichi staggered backwards, the mint haired ninja took the lead it presented her with. She slid into a roundhouse kick of her own, channeling her chakra to her feet as she caught the brunette right at the chin. She was thrown outwards, and the young genin move to dodge the other attacks coming her way. It had been a while since she had last faced someone without Chōmei's chakra channeling itself all over her. She had forgotten how much she liked to _move_ at a quick pace.

"I told you," she grinned, bobbing and weaving her way through a mass of clones that were coming towards her. "It wouldn't be smart to mess with me."

Delivering a quick, and still somehow unsatisfactory, punch towards one of the boy's face, she retreated to the safety of the branches of one of the trees nearby only to get caught some jutsu from the second boy. His piercing green eyes delivered a message she had been waiting for them to say. They weren't a force to be messed with easily.

She didn't do much except for grunt whenever her back slammed into a tree, but she had braced herself for it. The three Iwa nin moved in unison as they moved to attack together. She felt something explode from around her, and she didn't have to look down to feel disgusting, murky chakra make its way over her body from under her skin. If nothing else, at least that would protect her from the shuriken and kunai they were fond of using.

"See, you make it too easy." She complained as she focused her chakra – _hers_, not Chōmei's demonic chakra – into the seal. "Paralysis jutsu!"

She moved quickly, knowing that she didn't have a lot of time. The ninjutsu may have been a D-rank, but even that was okay. The three opposing ninja moved as if they had been tied. The kunoichi's face was already sporting an impressive bruise on her chin and on the side of her face.

"Are you feeling a little…tied up?" Fū asked blankly. "I'm really glad you guys showed up on my way to deliver this impressive little scroll. Mind telling me why, or do I have to kill you?"

"As if a little baby-faced genin would have the nerve to kill in cold blood," The second boy, the one who had caught her off guard with his jutsu, spat at her. At her narrowed eyes, he continued on with a spiteful tone. "Sunagakure may not be as weak minded as Konohagakure, but you're still pretty pathetic."

"It's funny to me that you're calling me pathetic when you got bound by a D-rank jutsu from a baby-faced genin." She spat, sitting down on her knees in front of them. "There's one last thing I would like for you to know before I kill you."

"We don't want to hear your life story." The kunoichi grit her teeth.

"Good, because I wasn't going to waste it on a no-name like you." She grinned, doing the hand signs slowly for them to grasp what she was doing. "My name is Mizuppoi Suna no Fū."

'_Dog, Tiger, Snake, Dog, Rat, Snake._' She chanted in her head slowly before slamming her hands on the ground. "Earth Release: Flying Stones."

She closed her eyes to avoid the bloodshed and tried to ignore the sound of their screaming. It hadn't been her fastest jutsu, nor was that her preferred way of killing. But, a mission was a mission. This scroll had to get to Konohagakure before the end of the week, and she would only have just enough time to make it back to Suna for her mission with Gaara and Kankuro.

"Don't even ask." She uttered quickly, knowing well enough what Chōmei was going to ask her. "I learned my lesson, okay?"

* * *

AN: Their names mean Fū of the Watery Sand and Temari of the Sandy Winds. Fū's name might not make sense right now, but it will!

Kankuro has one, too, but that's for later.

As for why this is a day late, we had crazy weather yesterday...including a blackout! Hope you enjoy it!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto...which is probably a good thing...

**Appreciation for: **YOU. AND YOU. AND YOU. AND YOU. AND YOU! (You get the hint!) I'd like to say a big _**THANK**** YOU**_ to all of those who have read this story. We now have **1,033 Views**, **596 Visitors, 14 Followers, 14 Reviews, and 9 Favorites.** Keep in mind, lovelies, if you review, I'll update faster! (Also, your reviews warm my heart.)

* * *

"_Until you guys own your own soul, you don't own mine._"

It was supposed to be a simple, diplomatic mission. She had assumed that because that was what Baki had told her when he handed the scroll over to her. Because it was such a simple mission, she didn't expect to have to do a lot of things. Yes, she had had to kill those ninja. But, she had done so because of her strong sense of self preservation. (As in, she wasn't about to let them kill her first.) Aside from that, her only problem had been traveling via tree. It wasn't that she couldn't do it. It was just that her body was different from the last time that she had.

She had been too weak to do it in Taki, what with being starved, and she hadn't had that problem much in Suna. The last time she had traveled this long over branches had been…before she had died.

It was a pain, but she just kept misjudging how much chakra she needed. Too little had her slipping from the trees, and too much had the branches exploding from underneath her. It had taken her more than a few trial and error runs to make sense of it all.

And, until she had handed in the scroll, she had thought that was going to be the biggest problem of her mission. She had assumed that, aside from the confrontation with the three ninja and the trees, there wasn't anything else she really had to worry herself about. She had reached the gates of the check-in almost on time. (Two hours late, which wasn't bad considering the fight and the fact that it was a long trip to make.) They led her to the Hokage, who was the only person allowed to see the scroll. Even handing the scroll wasn't too difficult. Sure, the Hokage was old; Fū had expected that. It wasn't hard to tell him apart from anyone else. Like the Kazekage, he wore the official uniform; the customary hat and haori with the red kimono tied by a white sash.

But, he hadn't been cruel. He had been, if she dared to think something about a man who wore the robes of a Kage, nice and kind of funny. Without meaning to, he had made her smile at one of his jokes. It hadn't een until he asked her for her name ("Mizuppoi suna no Fū) that he had paused in his reading and looked at her curiously. She shifted under his attention, not quite used to it. The Kazekage had, generally, directed most of his questions to Gaara (who'd answer in a grunt) or Kankuro (who would be _painstakingly_ polite and formal.)

That was when she felt the heightened killing intention. Caught off guard, Fū shuddered.

"**Do you remember why I didn't want to come to Konoha? Why I took you to Suna instead?**" Chōmei asked sarcastically as it dawned on her.

As the norm, her head tilted to the side as she responded. '_I…no. It didn't occur to me. I got careless. I got stupid. The Kazekage wouldn't just…send me away. He couldn't. He needs me. There have been more missions – Gaara would throw a tantrum that made his last one look like child's play. _I _would throw a tantrum. If I go back, no. It's not an option. They can't make me go back to Takigakure. I would make the bastard Kakuzu look like a saint if they made me._"

"**Is that a promise?**"

"My apologies," the Hokage said slowly, his voice heavy but polite. To the kunoichi, it put her on her guard more than the killing intent did. "You look an awful lot like a young orphan Takigakure has been desperate to retrieve."

Of course they had. The only thing that damned village had going for them was the fact that no one had been able to find their entrance yet. Fū held her head up, mint green hair sliding back. Her orange eyes focused in on the file he had opened in front of him, recognizing (and smirking at the improper image of) the younger picture of herself. She looked like she had when she had been younger – short, uneven hair, tan skin, rueful features on her face. The only difference was that the 'artist' had taken the liberty of neglecting to factor in her bruises and had filled out her cheeks entirely too much.

"That's me." She said flatly, knowing that she could have gone about it a different way, but knowing that there wasn't much the Hokage could do. He couldn't detain her here, as that would anger the Kazekage. His doing so, if the Kazekage refused to give her over, would start another war. Wars had, as she had often been told, the tendency to break out for less. "Except, different; see, most jinchuuriki grow up hating everything about the place they were raised. Not all of them have someone to look out for them."

She said mostly in reference to Gaara, but Chōmei had pointed the knowing glint in the Hokage's eye.

"Personally, I was beaten and starved as a child. A day didn't go by where something didn't spit on me, starve me, make sure the men had a fun time kicking my ribs and breaking my arms. I didn't have control over my…gift, then. I lived in an abandoned, condemned building that I was pretty sure some villagers were planning on tearing down in my sleeping, hoping it would crush me."

The old man's eyes became sharp as he glanced down. Inevitably, she had hit too chose to home. As his eyes skimmed over the scroll in his hand, she pressed her lips together. She had no doubt in her mind that Taki would lie – would never tell the truth about its jinchuuriki. It was a while before he looked up. Whatever he had wanted to say, he clearly wasn't very happy about it. "I'm afraid that things aren't that simple."

She had only felt the spike of chakra that began to quickly, almost sickengly, jump out of her and Chōmei's warning – "**Fū, you stupid fool. You –**"

Before her world went black.

…

When her eyes finally fluttered open, she stared up at the gray ceiling. When everything finally hit her, she sat up angrily and threw the covers off of her wildly. When she glanced around the room, she was less and less surprised by what she saw around her. The room was small and gray all around; four walls, a ceiling, and a floor. There were no windows and only one door. She didn't even bother to get up and try to reach for it. She knew it would be locked. The room had a futon shoved in the corner. There was a table placed in the middle of the room. On one side, there were two chairs facing one another. On the other, a lone chair sat facing them, tucked under the table. There was nothing on the walls – no lights nor anyway to change the temperature.

The room itself was cold.

She sat down in one of the two opposing chairs, livid. If they let her leave, if the Kazekage got word of this…

If _Gaara_ heard about this…

This injustice would not go unpunished.

Of all the crap she could have gotten herself into, of course it had to involve being thrown into an interrogation chamber. Of _course_ it had to be a village of great military power. The only way this could have been worse is if she would stumble across the S-ranked ninjas (_Hidan and Kakuzu_) that had killed her the first time.

"Sorry; we were waiting for you to wake up."

Her head snapped to the side, eyes the blond man who took the seat across from her and ignoring the man in black that took the other chair. She slid her hands into her lap and gave the man a cold look, noting and smirking at the glare coming from the scarred man on the other side of the table.

"Mizuppoi suna no Fū? What's it like in Suna?" The blond man asked her, good naturedly. He had a file on his lap, waiting to record what she would tell them.

"Dry." She responded instantly sarcastically.

"**While you're being interrogated, the first instinct you latch onto is to be sarcastic?**" Chōmei sighed, chakra buzzing. "**I don't **_**remember**_** you being this amusingly stupid.**"

"Sandy, too," she added after a beat.

"And, do you like being called Fū?" He asked, not at all put off by her biting remarks.

"I prefer Fū to 'girl' or 'demon', which really seems to work when you're an angry villager or an angry ninja." She smiled blankly. "In Taki, they preferred 'pathetic waste of space'."

He marked each of these things down without giving anything away. Except for the initial vibe of goodness she was getting from him, he kept the rest of his emotions under wrap.

"Do you have a last name?"

"No." At least, not that she remembered. Once upon a time, Fū had known it. She had only known it because she had spent all those months looking after her parents and after the sibling she had never gotten to know, but she had known the last name that should have been hers. She knew from the gossip villagers would spread about her lineage – about her family and how it was "_such a shame that such a nice family had that smudge forever on their reputation._"

"Train," was the first word that fell out of her mind. The man gave her a minute to see if she was going to respond to anything else. When she didn't, he nodded his head and wrote something else down.

"Do you have any friends?"

"I have one good one, although he's considering a sociopathic psychopath." They both gave her a sharp look, but she didn't clarify. It wasn't her fault that Gaara had tendencies of both. He varied in his predisposition to violence and his impulsivity, but his behavior did tend to be erratic. He, normally, didn't minimalize anything that he did. If he had done something, everyone tended to know. He did lack the ability to maintain most normal relationships, but he wasn't…a social predator. Many of the times he willingly spoke to someone tended to have to do with them talking too much before he killed them.

"Alright; I think that that's everything I need. You'll be kept here for another day of observation. After that, we'll determine what we'll do with you."

Fū snarled and was on her feet instantly. They couldn't do that to her. It wasn't allowed.

They were gone.

In the room, they had left a very angry mint haired kunoichi.

"**You should have acted nearly that confident, Fū.**"

'_What did you expect me to do?_' She asked, snarling. Her hands clenched at her sides. She wanted very much to throw a fit – to break the table, the chairs, the futon, the walls encasing her. '_I'm a kunoichi. They have no right to treat me this way._'

"**You are not a ninja from here. They have a right to detain any threat to their village.**"

'_Taki may be their ally, but so is Suna. They do this, and Konoha is _nice_?_' Her hands gripped the chair in front of her angrily.

She felt a cool, tingling feeling. It made the hair on her skin stand up straight. It brought her goosebumps and made her want to shudder. It was a spike of killing intent filling the room, directing itself through her. For a moment, she stumbled in her thought process. It wasn't because the intent was too much – it wasn't. It wasn't from the Hokage. It was probably from one of those two men. Fū wanted to laugh.

The damn thing wasn't even vaguely threatening. It was true that it had caught her off-guard. For a few moments, she believed herself to be paralyzed. And, while her 'best friend' wasn't nearly half as bad as he could have been, for all sakes, Gaara was still a coldblooded killer. He was constantly drenching the four of them in his killing intent. It – unless put off by Temari's begging, her request, or the Kazekage's demand – rivaled very little that she had ever felt before. This focus, for all its worth, felt like a child's in comparison.

Not only that, but she had also been subjecting to the overwhelmingly suffocating power of the Kazekage's killing intent. This jounin…or whatever rank it was that belonged to this man, was nothing. While they had looked…frightening and could have probably justified having several other people crack under the pressure of their bloodlust, could hardly do a thing against her while she was protected.

Ergo, Fū wasn't afraid and was very much annoyed at the entire situation.

* * *

The moment that the mint haired kunoichi ignored the guards and stepped into Suna, she was flanked by a very angry redhead. He didn't say anything, and his facial expression was very much blank. By the time she had reached the sandy village she had, tentatively, called her home, two weeks had passed since she had left. She was still angry at the situation, and only angered more by what had occurred as she had been released. Still, she continued on her way – passing through the village and not slowing down nor speeding up. Gaara kept up with her easily, despite his angry undertone and the glares (and frightful stares) coming from the villagers.

It wasn't until they were coming up on the building that he spoke.

"You missed the mission." His voice was low, deep and full of resentment she had never had directed towards her.

It occurred to her that she had never left the company of the redhead for such a long period of time before. Since he had joined her, part of the rage she had been feeling evaporated. She opened her mouth to apologize, but stopped herself.

"I hate Konoha." She said instead.

Chōmei laughed. Even though she wasn't paying much attention, she knew where he was; lying lazily near Nanabi's Well with his wings spread out as if he were about to take flight. "**You weren't always with him. You don't need to apologize for not being able to coddle him all the time.**"

She bristled at her words, wanting to defend her friend but knowing how Chōmei acted when she did. '_I'm not going to apologize to you for…coddling him. I'm sorry because I would have rather been with him and Kankuro on the mission. I'm sorry because I wasted so much time in Konohakagure and had to put up with those…_things_ until I reached the border. I'm sorry because I have to give this report instead of relaxing._'

Gaara's hand reached for her wrist, wrapping his fingers around it tightly as he stopped her from walking into the building. She turned, giving him a look. He returned it with his own challenging gaze.

"You can be unhappy about it, and he can be unhappy about it, but I'm not going to stop speaking to either of you." She told him blankly as he let go. "How long have I lived here?"

"Nearly six years," came the short, annoyed answer.

"Do you know where I lived before that?"

"Takigakure."

"Yes, and, as unfortunate as it is, Taki is very closely tied with Konoha; which means, when I abandoned that useless, good-for-nothing village, they sent word out to their allies about me. Mostly, I'm protected because of the Kazekage." She gave him a long look, which he took with a scowl.

Because of her bijū went without saying.

"Konoha wasn't afraid to question me and detain me. Because I was a _threat_, they saw fit to hold me in a cell until they were sure I could be cleared."

The spike of the killing intent radiating off her friend did make her pause and shiver. Whatever Ibiki – the guy who had finished off the bouts of interrogation – had, it wasn't anything compared to that. She found herself shivering and lashed out, throwing her hand out. The intent didn't go away until the sand had connected with her arm, wrapping itself around it as she gave him another look.

Gaara reigned it back in, eyes narrowing as his focus shifted upwards.

When hers did, they landed on the back of the Kazekage. Fū sucked a breath inward and smiled wryly. "What do you think he wants?"

"You."

* * *

AN: LONGEST CHAPTER! And only about…half an hour late, by my time…if you're wondering why Fū got detained and thinking that Konoha would, in no way, do that, eh. That could be left up for debate. Personally, I think that Konoha was put into a nasty situation, no? As Fū points out, it's allies with both Taki and Suna, and Taki had asked for help in retrieving Fū _nearly six years ago_ their time.

Anway, I'm curious. What do YOU think is gonna happen? I have this story...pretty much plotted about, but I'm open to change if any of you guys have a good idea.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto...you'd be waiting _forever _for updates.

**Appreciation for: **All of the people who were nice enough to still read and review and follow and favorite this. You guys gave me the courage to actually sit down and write, even if it's not the best quality! We now have **2,213 Views**, **950 Visitors, 30 Followers, 19 Reviews, and 18 Favorites.** That all makes me very, very happy. XD Except, we have a weird balance of followers to favorites. Ah well. Keep reviewing. ;)

* * *

Walking back into a village she had been imprisoned and interrogated in wasn't something that she had ever wanted to do. At least, it wasn't something that she had wanted to do and not get revenge on the people who had done it to her. The second time that Fū had walked into Konoha, she was less intimidated and even less awestruck by the things that she saw. Not for the first time, she had had to pull out her registration and hand it to the guards, making sure that her orange-red eyes were on them at all times. She barely blinked at them when they handed it back with smirks on their face. She could feel the anger leak out of every single one of her pores. Had Baki not put his hand on her shoulder, she was sure she would have killed them right then and there. He steered her towards Kankuro and Gaara, the latter of which was now glowering at the guards with his hands clenched.

Their hostility was not very well welcomed. The guards were very much aware of how much of a threat they posed, but they could do nothing. They were, after all, entered in the Chūnin Exams. Their villages were...allies. They didn't have the certification to be able to arrest the two of them for their hostility, and it made the mint-haired ninja want to laugh because of it. As Baki and Temari's sensei – Fū honestly could care less about finding out his name. He must have been high in the ranks of Jounin, otherwise he never would have gotten then chance to teach a child of the Kazekage – herded them towards their inn, she was less and less impressed by everything she was seeing.

But, not Kankuro. It was easy to see how taken in he was by everything around them. Though he never actively turned his head, his eyes would dart in every direction. He was taking everything in. She wasn't sure if it was because he was impressed by the buildings, or he was realizing that, if everything went according to plan, all of this was to be destroyed. That his part in it would be to make sure that every single one of these villagers and their ninjas would be wiped from existence. She wasn't sure if Temari's team was even aware of what they had to do, but she knew that Temari did. The blonde was there when they had gotten informed. Like her younger brother, the kunoichi's eyes could also be found observing the area around her.

That was why, while she spoke with the older pair of siblings, Fū generally tried to stay around Gaara. Unlike his siblings, his eyes stayed on the path in front of him. They didn't linger at the bust size of some of the women from around here. They didn't make eye contact with anyone for any sort of time. They were focused on Baki's back as he lead them passed busy streets. She liked him all the more for that. That was her best friend; drawing attention to them with barely concealed killing intent dripping from his pores in amounts even she couldn't copy. The civilians felt it as they walked by – they had to. That had to be the reason their eyes whipped around to face them. Their focus couldn't be drawn away from the foreign group of ninja – they had to see the face o the boy who would kill them when he got the chance to do it.

She wasn't happy about it. The last thing that she had wanted to do was piss Konoha off. She didn't want to do it, but she was a ninja. She was a jinchuuriki. She was a weapon to be used by her Kage. She had no choice but to follow the commands that were given to her. If the Kazekage had decided to launch an attack on Konoha for whatever reason he decided was fit, then she would fight for him. He had, after all, managed to get her out of Konoha's interrogation chambers. Not only that, but he had taken her in and had her trained. Iwa and Kumo, she was sure, would have done the same thing. They would have loved to have her – to have another jinchuuriki to add to their two. To turn her into a weapon like they had done to their own jinchuuriki. Like Takigakure had done before.

Before. It had been such a long time since she had thought of before.

"**Almost like you're reminiscing.**"

'_And, if I was?'_

"**Stop. Those days were nothing but miserable for us both.**"

He wasn't wrong. Back then, the last time that she had been twelve, she had been a genin, too. She had barely managed to pass the test. In fact, the only reason that she had was because they had wanted her out of the village taking missions. She barely ate anything. She might have been fed more as a child, but, growing into her teenage years, she could always run her bony fingers over her ribs.

Once they had gotten to the inn and unloaded her things, she flopped back on the couch and closed her eyes. She ignored the questions of whether or not she was going to sleep. Ignored the fact that Gaara disappeared from the room in a gust of sand. Ignored the fact that Temari and her team had been sent out to go and find him. Fū was perfectly content with letting her friend go off. Even though he reveled in killing anything that even remotely proved to be a challenge for him, even Fū knew that he wouldn't do any of that until they were allowed to do so.

"Fū," Kankuro's voice was shaky, even to her own ears. With a muffled groan, her eyes popped open. They flashed in all directions until they came upon the older genin.

"Kankuro." She acknowledged just the same, leaning forward and stretching. "They didn't find him?"

He scoffed, weakly. "They didn't really look for him. Temari's still out there. I'm about to join her. I thought you should know in case –"

"–in case Gaara should prove to be too...sadistic to be stopped by you. Don't worry, Kankuro. I'll join you." She flashed him a smile; a sarcastic one that let him know that he was an idiot. She didn't follow him out the door, as he probably would have liked. She made her way towards the balcony, looking down and catching the top of Temari's head.

Her sandals pushed off against the railings; her hands were already reaching for the taller roof in front of her. She flipped herself over it, standing briefly. It gave her just enough time to make eye contact with Temari and nod her head at her.

It took her a lot longer than she would have liked to find him. He was around a playground, watching children play. His fingers were tense. His entire body was taut. She knew the look. It was one they both shared when they were watching carefree children about.

Children who had never had to suffer as they had suffered. It almost made her wonder, looking at them all. Where was the jinchuuriki of this village? Was he as happy as the children down there.

"They're looking for you." She joined him, sitting down on the branch below the one he was standing on. When he didn't answer her, she continued. "Temari and Kankuro. The other two were for a while, too." She didn't bother to mention that they had stopped looking. That they were probably too afraid he was going to be on a murdering rampage – he'd killed members of his workforce before, after all. He'd do it again.

"I don't care." He said bluntly.

She tried not to wince at the bluntness in which he stated it. Even after all those years of knowing him, of working with him. She still couldn't wrap herself around it. Gaara loved himself clearly above everyone else. He didn't kill her because she out powered him. If, for a moment, that power went away and Shukaku had the chance to kill Chōmei, she had no doubt in his mind that it was something that Gaara would exploit. Still, he was her best friend. He was, parasite inside her aside, her only friend.

"I didn't think you would." Fū settled on finally, shrugging her shoulder. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. When she turned her head, any remaining respect for the village fell immensely. The childish thing that had caught her attention was something she would have never seen in Suna. "Is that supposed to be a rock?"

The sheer stupidity of the question is what had caught his attention. Gaara turned to look in the direction she was facing. The children, for there was no mistaking their small chakra reserves and footsteps, continued on until they had passed a corner. Fū could feel her eye twitch as she looked upwards, made eye contact with her friend, and shrugged.

"Try not to kill anyone, Gaara." She slid off the branch with ease. The only pause in her movement came from turning upwards and saluting him. He was going to follow her. She wasn't going to try and disillusion herself into thinking that he wasn't. She was, after all, in hostile territory. (Then again, the only reason it was hostile was because of them.)

She couldn't hear him from behind her, but she knew that he was there. He'd masked his signature well enough, but she could still feel him. When two more chakra signatures reached her, she sped up her movement. Temari and Kankuro were up ahead. If the little Konoha ninja proved to be too boring, she could always make her way towards them.

"That hurts." Kankuro voiced.

She rounded the corner quickly, eyes landing on the scene in front of her. Kankuro was holding some kid by the scarf. She almost moved forward in that instant, to remove the kid from Kankuro's hand by force. Almost. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the fence. Gaara was closer to them than she was.

"Konohamaru!" Some kid in orange shouted. His voice was loud and raspy. It made her wince the moment he voiced it. She could already tell he was itching for a fight.

"That hurt, you little piece of shit." Kankuro continued, lifting him up even higher. Almost by reflex, Fū's hands clenched together.

'_It's like back then. Even Kankuro would hit a kid – a nuisance._'

Temari looked over her shoulders, making sure that no one was around. She clearly didn't look well enough because Gaara was almost above them, and she was down the makeshift street. "Don't. We'll get yelled at later."

"**They'd get yelled at now if you would quit observing and step in.**"

A pink haired girl stepped forward. Her hands were twisting in front of her. She paused in her stride and stared at her. Her head tilted a little. Pink. The girl's hair was pink. Of course, Fū couldn't say much about it. Her own hair was mint green, and Gaara's was bright red.

"I'm sorry. I was messing around." The pink haired girl was trying to apologize. For a moment, it seemed as if Kankuro was going to accept it.

"Hey, stop!" The blond one screamed, causing her to wince.

"Let's play with them before the Boss comes around." Kankuro grinned evilly. His grip on the small one – Konohamaru – tightened ever so slightly.

The poor kid was trying. She had to give him that. He started kicking.

"Hey, let go!"

"You're pretty lively, you little punk." His voice was filled with disgust.

That was why, Fū reasoned. That was why she let Gaara threaten him. That was why she didn't care when her best friend threatened to kill his siblings. When he acted like that, she kind of thought he deserved it. It was a little kid. He couldn't have been much older than she was when she had left Takigakure. Couldn't have been older than Gaara when he had lost his innocence.

Just a kid.

"You jerk!" The blond screamed, rushing forward.

It was almost painful to watch. He was slow. Painfully slow. Not only could Kankuro easily connect his chakra strings to the kid's feet, he could have done some major damage to the kid, too. The blond was knocked over. His legs were still up in the air. When he brought them down, he used them as a propeller to bring himself up. "What was that?"

"Leaf Village's genin are weaker than I thought."

They couldn't have been more then fresh graduates. They looked too weak. They didn't have the muscle of seasoned genin, like the rest of them. She doubted they had even seen anyone die. And, yet...something about that blond. About the brightness of the orange he was wearing. It was familiar to her, she just couldn't place it.

'_Do you know, Chōmei? Why he looks so familiar? I could have sworn I had seen him, but I don't know where._'

"Hey! I you don't let go of him, I won't forgive you. You fool!" The blond had given himself a little power stance. Her mouth twitched upwards in amusement.

"**No, but I can feel it, too.**"

The pink haired girl was not amused by the reaction. She pulled the boy into a headlock. It was tight enough to pop his back. Even with as far back as she was, she could hear it.

"You're the fool." She sneered. "What are you gonna do by getting him worked up?"

Kankuro's face twitched. "You're ticking me off. I don't like little runts, anyway." His free hand twisted into a fist. "On top of that, you're a smart aleck for someone younger than me." The older genin directed his attention towards the Konoha genin. "Makes me want to break him."

"It's not on me." Temari raised her hands and took a step back.

Not on her? Fū rolled her eyes. That was her brother. She pushed herself off the wall and made her way towards them calmly, hands swinging at her sides and her face carefully blank.

"Well, after this little squirt, it's the little runt that won't shut up!" He drew his hand back at the moment the blond moved forward.

The sound of rock hitting flesh made them look upwards, but it was the chakra signature next to that that had her looking up – towards the face of her best friend. When Gaara gave the slight shake of his head, she nodded hers a fraction.

"What do you think you're doing in someone else's Village, you – "

Anything else he might have said was drowned out by the pink haired girl. Her entire frame lit up. A blush appeared on her cheeks, and, if Fū wasn't mistaken, she was certain that a red hue had appeared on Temari's face, too.

"Sasuke!"

"Another little punk to piss me off." Kankuro was clearly annoyed, but not nearly as much as the two jinchuuriki present.

The genin on the tree clenched the rock. She felt a spike of chakra. "Get lost." He sneered once he opened his hand. Debris dropped out of it. The girls proceeded to scream, and the small boy – Konohamaru, if their cries had been right – turned towards the blond.

"Naruto, you're lame."

"**Naruto...**" Chōmei's voice rang in her head, thoughtful. "**The name of that kid that saved Taki when you were on border patrol?**"

'_Is that who this is?_' She was very unimpressed.

"Hey, come down here, you little punk!" Kankuro called upwards. "You're the kind of smart aleck little punk that I despise the most." He pulled on the string behind his back.

"Wait!" Temari stepped forward. "You aren't thinking of using Crow, are you?"

The damn puppet slammed against the ground with Kankuro's hand on top of it.

"No, he's not." Fū answered for him, eyes narrowed as she passed the 'runts' they'd been speaking to. She didn't let her attention drift to them. Instead, they focused on Gaara. "He's not _that_ stupid."

"Kankuro," Gaara's voice was soft, but it commanded the attention of everyone there. Probably because they hadn't thought to search for anymore foreign chakra signatures. Otherwise, his would have been a beacon, regardless of how quiet he had appeared there. "You're an embarrassment to our village."

Which meant that he was really a disgrace to him. Gaara could care less about the village. He prided himself on...himself. He tolerated none of that. Kankuro had known that for nearly a decade now. To think that it would be any different in a foreign village was foolish on his part.

"G-Gaara, Fū..." Kankuro tried to laugh, but the unsureness in his voice was obvious. If the Konoha genin hadn't picked up on it, she would be surprised.

For her part, Temari looked just as petrified as Kankuro sounded, although that might just be because she had been looking for it. Now that Gaara's focus was on his stupid older brother, the mint haired kunoichi was free to focus on Temari.

"And you, are you not older? Could you _not_ have prevented this from happening?" It was easy to annoy Temari. All someone really had to do was point out that she had been...incapable of stopping Kankuro, someone younger than her and less experienced, from doing something as stupid as hitting a child in a village they were visiting.

"Why do you think we came all the way here to the Leave Village?" It was an unnatural ability, the one Gaara had. He neither had to raise his voice nor lower it to install fear into the hearts of his siblings.

"P-Please listen to me, Gaara." Kankuro slid Crow back onto his back, his hands extending outwards as if to halt an imminent attack from hitting him. "They lashed out first."

"Shut up!" Garra's eyes narrowed.

"Don't bother to lie, Kankuro. We were here the whole time." She gave a long, meaningful look in Gaara's direction.

"I'll kill you."

"Understood, I was wrong." Kankuro agreed immediately. "I'm sorry. I was out of line."

Gaara shifted his attention away from them, focusing on the strangers instead. She shifted too, but not before glowering in the older sibling's direction.

"I'm sorry about that." His voice was flat. It was more than obvious that he didn't mean a single thing he said. He was surrounded by a vortex of sand. In a second, he was right next to her. "Let's go. We didn't come here to play around."

He was speaking to her. She nodded her head in agreement. "The less time I walk the streets of this place, the happier I am."

They'd just started to walk away whenever someone called out for them to wait. It was the pink haired girl, judging by her voice.

"Judging from your headbands, you're ninja from the Village Hidden in the Sand, right?" When they turned around, the girl had ran in front of the group.

Either she was suicidal, or she was too stupid to feel the annoyance radiating off of Gaara.

"Are you that naive?" Temari sneered, but it was easy to see how amused she was. "Don't you know anything about it?"

All four of them reached into their pockets, pulling out the same passes they had shown the guards earlier that day. They held them up, regardless of the fact that they could kill the kids in front of them with ease.

Well, maybe not Kankuro.

"As you say, we're Sunagakure genin from the Land of Wind." They held them out only long enough for the girl to register that they hadn't been lying. "We came to this village to take the Chūnin Exam."

"Chūnin Exam?" The blond's voice was laced with confusion. In a way, it was kind of pathetic. "What is the Chūnin Exam, anyway?"

"You really don't know anything, do you?" Temari was clearly amused by this. Her arms crossed over her chest. She'd almost let her guard down, too.

"Boss, if you pass the exam, you can become a chūnin from a genin." Konohamaru explained.

They took their leave again in time to hear him rave about wanting to take it.

"Hey, you there. What's your name?"

Temari turned around quicker than anyone else. The red hue was on her face again. "Who, me?"

"No. The gourd next to you."

"Sabaku no Gaara." Came the instant reply. If Temari had relaxed, the moment Gaara spoke had caused her go rigid once more. For her own part, Fū was merely interested. "I have an interest in you as well. What's your name?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Say! Say! What about me?" The blond jumped in, pointing to himself with a stupid grin on his face.

She almost felt bad for his teammates.

"We already know your name." Fū answered carefully, her hand reaching out and pulling on Gaara's elbow. "Uzumaki Naruto, right? I hope you _are_ in the Exam. I'm looking forward to fighting you."

He laughed loudly. "See! I knew I'd be famous! What about you?! What's your name!"

"Oh, me? Mizuppoi Suna no Fū." They turned again, ready to leave. "See you around, Uzumaki."

* * *

AN: I know a lot of you are like, "Why've you been gone for so long?" I've had...family related problems. But, they're all right now. I should get back into the full swing of updating now. If there's a problem, or something that you'd like to know, feel free to ask in your reviews. I'll try to answer your questions. I'm going to cut a lot of them off, though, by telling you this. Fū never met Naruto, personally. But, the name is very rare, don't you think? She would have remembered the name of someone who had saved Takigakure. The whole reason she doesn't recognize Sakura or Sasuke is because they weren't the ones that made the big impression. We all know the effects Naruto has on people. :3


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Except for a bag of chips.

**Appreciation for: **ALL OF YOU. You guys have been so amazing, seriously. I don't know what I would do without you. Shout out, especially to **Aista** and **Guest** for their reviews. They were much appreciated. As for everyone who has this, or me, on their favorites and alerts, thank you to you, too! (But, I like reviews. Reviews are very nice. ;D) As of now, we have **2,552 Views, 1,043 Visitors, 30 Followers, 21 Reviews, 19 Favorites, and 3 Communities**. So, you can see that things have changed, even if hasn't been by too much. I love you all~

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It was beyond words. It was beyond any feeling in the world. For once, it wasn't Gaara and Fū that were getting reprimanded. It wasn't as if they ever listened to why they were being scolded, but it was the fact that no one could say anything to them that cheered her up. A smile made it's way onto her face as she looked up, eyes meeting those of Gaara.

As opposed to her, he didn't seem interested in what was going around him. She knew that he was annoyed he hadn't gotten to fight anyone of worth. She was somewhat annoyed she hadn't gotten to fight anyone, either. She had wanted to see just how much of a gap lied between them and the Konoha ninja. After all, they had been revered as some of the best ninja around when she had last name chūnin. It had been a field promotion. She had never expected to compete in the Chūnin Exam. She wasn't ever in tune with her teammates. She may have disliked Kankuro now, but she had hated them with such a passion that she had killed some of them. It made people wary of being placed on her team.

Not that she cared. The more she got to be away from them, the happier she was. Now that she thought about it, meeting the two zombies from Akatsuki was probably the best thing that had ever happened to her.

"Fū? What's wrong?"

She'd completely forgotten about that. She'd forgotten that, out there, two men had been responsible for killing her. They'd ripped her best friend from her, and had forced Chōmei to send them back. The comfortable life she had built for herself, that was gone. On one hand, she had preferred it because it had given her the clearly better life, she'd never take the missions that had made her stronger. Assassination missions were fun, but there was only so much she could learn from them.

"She's as white as a sheet."

There were nine bijū out there. She had one, and Gaara had one. If she remembered correctly, there was one in Kirigakure. She'd never met him in this world, and she had never gotten the chance to track him down and speak to him again in the last. Utakata; jinchuuriki of the six tailed slug. She'd found him funny, even if they had never meant to run into one another. They'd befriended each other instead, and left on good terms. The last thing she remembered was walking away from him and waving over her shoulder. Fū wouldn't go as far as to say that they were friends. Neither of them knew much of what that meant, but she had liked him.

"Fū!"

He was someone who understood the same pain she and Gaara had been through. Perhaps not to the same level, but she had seen his cold look. She'd witnessed his stoic, solitude personality first hand. They'd, hesitantly, discussed their lives and agreed to meet in that location again within a year. Except, she had never made it there.

She blinked insistently when sand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her forward. She almost went crashing into the table in front of her. She might have, too, had the sand not kept her from doing so. When Fū got the sense to yank her hand back from the sand, it was too late to undo the damage. There may not have been a lot, but there was signs that her wrist had been somewhat burned and scathed. She looked at it briefly before glancing up at everyone.

"What?"

"I could ask you the same." Came Gaara's raspy question.

She winced, realizing that she hadn't been paying any sort of attention to what was going on around her. She signaled to Baki with her hands quickly, noting that they'd be on the roof. She brushed passed Kankuro and Temari without a second glance. And, it was only when she had reached the door that led out into the hallway that she turned and gave Gaara a look for not following after her.

When they walked out into the hallway, their footsteps were in sink. Both of them were silent, and it was nice. It wasn't a suffocating silence. It wasn't a nervous silence. (in which case one of the two of them would be afraid the other was going to kill them.)

"There's...someone here. Someone like...us." Fū plopped herself down on the corner of the building, legs hanging off the side. Her orange-red eyes scanned the road beneath them, as if she could pick him or her out of a lining.

She couldn't, not without the help of Chōmei.

"So?"

Fū couldn't help but stare at him blankly. So? That was all he had to say. She had been ecstatic when she had met Utakata. Happier still when she met Gaara, even if it meant she'd have no other friend. She couldn't help but be a little put off that he had written her comment off so easily. Instead of focusing her attention on a hurt look, she merely shrugged.

"There are others...an acquaintance of mine in Kirigakure."

That seemed to have gotten his attention. His hand curled into a fist as a frown overtook his face. "When were you in Kirigakure?"

"A long time ago," she deflected his question, shrugging. "Six tails."

"What does it matter?" His fingers twitched. "I'll kill him if the gets in the way."

"See, I don't think you could. Not that you aren't powerful, Gaara, but Utakata is, too. A tail beneath me; he has pretty good control, too. If this all goes according to plan, I think I'll request a mission to go and find him."

"Why?"

Her mouth twitched in irritation, but she shrugged her shoulder instead of telling him off. She realized he'd probably push her off the ceiling if she gave an unsatisfactory answer. And, while that drop was nothing to a ninja, she'd have to explain why she'd jumped off the roof.

* * *

Fū adjusted her white armlets as she glanced around the area in appreciation. She made small traps like a professional. Perhaps it was the years upon years of people haunting and hunting her, waiting for the moment where she finally let her guard down enough for someone to get close enough to kill her that made her become so paranoid. A small branch breaking sixty to seventy yards away had her whirling on her heel, hands instantly jumping towards the weapons she had on her person. When nothing else moved, she pressed herself against the tree she had been running her fingers over her. She'd turned around once more, kunai in hand. When it clashed against something else, she, at least, had the audacity to gape at the weapon her attacker held.

A bubble blower was holding its own against a sharp kunai. Her eyes narrowed instantly as they glared up at her attacker. Except, instead of being completely off guard, she managed to catch sight of a boy a year older than her, at the most. He was tall and lanky. It hadn't looked like he had eaten in days, and she could sympathize with that. His eyes were golden – such an odd color for eyes, but Fū wasn't one to judge. His bands covered the left side of his face, and she was more than just a little amused by the light blue kimono he wore. Although, she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't a little put off by the exposure of his chest.

There was power radiating off of him; power she knew all too well. It was made the rest of the population consider her a monster. Before she had befriended the Nanabi, before she had had a friend to help save her sanity, she had considered herself a monster for the chakra she wielded. A monster that had barely been covered by a human host. She'd often stare at herself in the mirror, searching for differences between herself and her parents. Her skin had always been different – had almost always been unnaturally hard. No marks of abuse had ever touched her. Her eyes and her hair shown like a beacon to keep everyone else away from her.

"Who the hell are you?" She sneered, pushing pressure into the kunai to try to drive him off of her.

"Funny. I was going to ask you the same thing."

She got the feeling he was hated for something he had very little control of, too. She knew that she had been hated before she had ever been able to pronounce her name. Her superiors, which basically accounted for everyone in the village, treated her like she was worse than scum. If it had ever come down to taking back traitors to the village or disposing of her, a loyal villager tasked with their biggest burden, she was sure they'd take back the traitor without hesitation.

"My name is Fū." She gave no last name, and offered no explanation as to why she was there.

"Utakata." It was strangely refreshing that he didn't, either.

The both knew who the other was. And, after a while, they'd settled into uncomfortable silence right next to each other without saying a word. She didn't ask him about the scratched out headband he had on his person, and he didn't ask her why'd she occasionally whisper under her breath. She'd just been about to get up when he asked her.

"You're friendly, then? You and...the one you're keeping?"

She smiled darkly and shrugged her shoulder.

"One day," she had started before launching into the story. She'd thrown everything around her to the ground. Vases and pictures she'd never wanted shattered against the wall before crashing to the ground. She had never been so angry in all her life. All she wanted to do was wreak havoc on everything and everyone who got in her way. She wanted to be able to throw the pitiful villagers around and murder every single want of them. She swore she wanted revenge on them for doing to her what she didn't have the power to stop.

"I'd quit believing in love. Any form of it by that point."

She had just worked herself into a frenzy when she heard his voice. A deep and powerful,

"**No.**"

The next thing she knew, all the anger had dissipated from her before she could do anything to keep it. She'd been staring at herself through a broken mirror, and then she had been waking up outside against one of the trees outside the village, overlooking the giant waterfall. She couldn't recall how she had gotten out there. Before that time, she had never been outside of the village. She must have been...nine? Maybe pushing ten. Everyone had always feared she'd leave the village if she knew the way how. All she knew was that her hands were bleeding, her head was throbbing, she was stired, and she could barely muster up the energy to wrap her arms around her knees.

"They sent higher leveled ninja to collect me. Jounin, one or two strong chūnin. They attacked me with showers of kunai, thinking me hostile to the village. They just bounced off."

"Bounced off?" Only have his face was visible to her, but Fū had managed to catch the way his eyebrow hitched upwards in confusion.

Without hesitating, she pulled out a kunai and dragged the edge of it up her wrist. Utakata had panicked – as evidenced by the way his hand shot out to stop her. The only reason he stopped was because she flicked the kunai away from them both.

"Nanabi has chakra coursing over my body. While I wear it, I can't physically be harmed." She shrugged her shoulder. "He saved me. The demon everyone hated me for was the reason I wasn't snapping the necks of the villagers."

She'd stopped trying to interact with them the moment the beetle entered her life. She hadn't realized that the fiend had always been there with her, but had been unable to reach her until her most vulnerable moment. She didn't care that she appeared mentally unstable to the rest of the public. To the old bijū, she was a normal little girl. She read, and she trained. She became a genin, and then a chūnin. She'd had been working on a mission that'd ensure her the position of a jounin when she ran into him.

"And you? What's your story?"

So, he did his best to tell her his story. Their childhood was a lot in the same. He'd never had anyone there for him, either. Except, there was this one man. He was frowning when he had gotten to the part, clearly distressed by what he was saying. He'd cut himself off before continuing.

"I was a genin early. I was a loyal shinobi to Kirigakure, after all."

She tried not to look down and look at his headband. The time she'd actually been unable to control herself, he'd caught her eye and nodded. He went on and on about his master – Harusame. At first, he spoke of nothing but praises for the man. Until he realized what he was doing. Then, his tone took on a darker tone. There'd been one mission that he remembered. He had been sent to track and locate the scroll. But, he had brought it back.

"A ninja should carry out and complete their missions swiftly, after all."

Fū agreed with him. His master, apparently, had not. He had been livid that Utakata had gone off and done that. There had been plenty of yelling, although it was all one sided on Harusame's part. He snorted and said that his master claimed his life was precious. That, after all that yelling, his master had thrown his arm over his shoulder and told him he had just been grateful for his student to be safe and alive.

He was comfortable with his lifestyle. It wasn't the best. He hadn't had a lot of people to reply on, but he had his master and he didn't care for anyone else. It wasn't until Harusame had tried to take Rokubi from him. Utakata was confident that he had done so to try to kill him – as their was no other way to remove the bijū. Fū agreed with his reasoning and silenced herself to let him speak more.

"Rokubi took over after that and killed him. When I came to, I couldn't stand to be around anyone else. That's how you've managed to find me here. I've been wandering around."

She sucked in a breath. Very hesitantly, she placed a hand on his arm. They both winced at the contact, and she pulled her hand away. He nodded his head as if he appreciated the sentiment anyway.

"Hey, I have to go finish a mission." She stood up and stretched, smiling down at him. "But, we should stay in touch, right?"

"Don't you think that would be difficult?" He asked sarcastically, getting to his own feet.

"Hmm. That's true." She shrugged and pulled out her kunai, scratching at the bark. She marked a **VI** and a **VII ** before moving back to admire her handy work. "There. Now, we can always come back here, right? It'll be your job to wander around villages and tell me which one is the best one, got it?" She only stayed long enough to hear him confirm it. She extended her hand outward and grinned whenever he took it. They shook once and disappeared.

It was only a shame that, the moment she stepped back into the Land of Waterfalls, she was forced to fight for her life.

A fight she'd lost.

* * *

AN: This isn't my longest chapter...that would be the last chapter, but I think we needed to show some of her past. -le gasp- Why, yes, yes she did meet Utakata. She, also, had a brief meeting with another jinchuuriki that's neither Naruto nor Gaara in her past life, too. Can you guys try to guess which one?


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